Of Borrowed Time
by Lindzasaurus
Summary: God help me, that was the LAST thing I wanted to be reminded of right now. But the facts are inescapable, and I know it: Rosette doesn't have much time left. The watch is a devastatingly permanent reminder of that. RxC oneshot


**Author's Note:** _(Sorry guys. I blanked on the title. XD;) Anyways, HELLO AGAIN, FAITHFUL READERS; Lindsay here. So, I finally managed to pump out another fanfic.. after a good, what, two months? lol. XD So sorry you guys!! School is murder. But hey, at least that means I've had a few good weeks to work on this. :) and I've FINALLY had a chance to write for my OTP. :D Which is awesome, 'cause no one ever writes about Chrono Crusade anymore! xDD Oh applesauce. Well, either way I hope this is to your liking._

_This fic took FOREVER though, let me tell you. -_- Jeepers! I went through two bags of pretzals and two or three replayings of the entire album of The Wall by Pink Floyd. XD Ahaha. Talk about motivation._

_Anyway, I suppose I ought to get this out of the way: I vastly prefer the anime version of Chrono Crusade to the manga (crazy right?) so I'm going to be basing my fanfics—for the most part—on that. Hence 'devil'. xD_

_Anyway, enjoy the fic. :) Ciao!_

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_Chk-chk-chk. . .clack. Chk-chk-chk. . .clack._ I sit in silence, the sound of clattering wheels filling the otherwise silent train car. The sun begins to set over a slowly darkening horizon, and I can feel a cold burst of chilly air come in through the window, cracked slightly ajar. I glance out the window with little interest as we pass by rows of trees, miles and miles of grassy plains blurring in motion outside the windowpane. These are beautiful sights we see before us, but somehow I can't get my thoughts to stay in one place, and I look away; we're travelling too fast to get a good look at anything anyhow.

We are alone. Rosette's sleeping form stirs beside me, but only just, and I shift my position slightly, hesitating a moment before pulling her closer, allowing her to nestle against me in her sleep. _She'll kill me when she wakes up, _I think with a smile.

_Chk-chk-chk. . .clack. Chk-chk-chk. . .clack._

My thoughts begin to wander again as the repetitive view outside begins to grow steadily more and more unexciting. The thrum of the wheels against the track thunders in my ears, and I lean back, allowing myself to become lost in the sound.

_Chk-chk-chk. . .clack. Chk-chk-chk. . .clack._

We're traveling here on strict orders from Sister Kate (who all but begged us to take a train rather than allowing Rosette behind the wheel of another Jalopy, the thirty-seventh of which she'd just crashed into the chapel last week). Mission work. Rosette and I have been sent to exorcise a malevolent spirit said to be plaguing the inhabitants of downtown Chicago. . .probably another renegade devil on the loose. _Swell, _I mutter to myself._ That's all we need, another stereotypical desperado to dirty up our reputation even more. As if devils like me weren't feared and loathed enough already. _I sigh in exasperation, lifting my shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. Well, what can you do.

_Chk-chk-chk. . .clack. Chk-chk-chk. . .clack._

Rosette shivers, and I feel her tighten her grip on my sleeve. She mumbles something incomprehensible under her breath, and I can't help but wonder what she must be dreaming about. _From_ _the looks of it, it isn't good._ I frown. "Rosette. . .?"

She, of course, doesn't answer.

_Chk. . .chk. . .chk. . . _The noise from the train begins to fade away as I become accustomed to the monotonous clattering, my thoughts growing louder as the click of the train wheels quiet. I breathe another heavy sigh and sneak another anxious glance out the grubby windowpane; but by the looks of it, we're still quite a ways away from Chicago. Applesauce. If only I—

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

I freeze as an all-too-familiar sound reaches my ears, successfully drowning out my thoughts amid the piercing roar of the steam engine.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

I pass a worried, hesitant glance towards my partner.

As always, Rosette is beautiful. Golden hair falls to her shoulders from beneath her nun's habit; her slim, elegant figure slouched comfortably against my side in a drowsy, somewhat loose position on the bench. She clings to me as if for dear life. As if I were somehow the _source_ of her life instead of the one stealing it away.

She's close, oh God is she close. . .so close I can almost feel her warm breath on the nape of my neck. I blush guiltily at the sheer closeness of it. _Ehe. . .Yup. She's definitely gonna kill me._

After a moment, my eyes slowly fall to the watch around Rosette's neck. It looks so fragile where it sits, so. . .insignificant.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Ughhhh. God help me, that was the LAST thing I wanted to be reminded of right now. But the facts are inescapable, and I know it: Rosette doesn't have much time left. The watch is a devastatingly permanent reminder of that.

I shudder to myself, clawlike fingernails gripping edgily into the worn leather seats. _Why does it have to be Rosette?_ I demand internally for the thousandth time. _Why can't I take the fall for her? Why can't I protect her? Why does she have to_—god, I don't even like to think about it—_to. . .die. . .because of my own weakness?. . .Why? _I cast another glance at her sleeping form, and in my heart I feel a pang of guilt, sorrow, and. . .some other powerful, raw emotion I can't quite place.

_I'll never forgive myself._

I brush my fingers against the cold metal surface, gripping it tightly in my hand as I silently will it to slow, praying for a way, any way for her to have more time. More time. . .

. . .Hah. Yeah right.

_Chk-chk-chk. . .clack. Chk-chk-chk. . .clack._

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

A pair of sky-blue eyes slowly flutters open, and Rosette stirs beside me, yawning loudly, gawkily stretching her forearms with wrists turned out.

"Rise and shine," I say gently. She mumbles an acknowledgement and slumps back against me, eyes half open, face slightly pink.

"Wha. . .wha time izzit?" she mumbles sleepily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her wrist. "How much longer do we have. . .?"

_Not long enough. _" 'Til we get to Chicago, you mean? I think we're almost there," I reply slowly, doing my best to stay strong, to keep the sad note out of my voice. She grunts, and slouches back against me, doing her best to keep her eyes open.

"Nyehh. I dun wanna get up. Sleepy," she mumbles, peering up at me through long black eyelashes. "This okay? You're comfy. Hope you don't mind."

_Mind_? "…Sure," I manage, face flushing. _Of course I don't mind._

Tentatively, I pull her closer. "You'd better be glad yer so warm, Chrono," she says sleepily, failing to suppress a grin as she nestles back against my arm. "You just narrowly dodged my noogie attack this time."

I give her a tight, forced smile, and she senses immediately that something is wrong. "Chrono. . .? What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No. Don't you dare," she insists stubbornly. "Something's bugging you and I know it. You're a worse liar than _I_ am. After all—"

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

We both freeze as the sound resonates across the train car, and even Rosette falls quiet for an instant.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

". . .Heh. Stupid thing," she says quietly, a sad smile playing across her face. "Always ruining the moment, huh?"

That's when she notices my hand is still on the pocketwatch. ". . .Chrono?" she says again, worriedly. She's awake now, and anxious. I try to give her a reassuring smile, but she doesn't believe it for a minute.

I already know how she'll react. After all, Rosette is Rosette; I know her better than anyone. She'll probably scream at me, throw things, knuckle my head with her fist. "_Why are you always worrying about it?!" she'd say angrily, like she always did. "It's not your burden to bear!" _I shut my eyes, expecting the worst.

Instead, she wordlessly wraps her hand around mine, our laced fingers resting on top of the pocketwatch. Stunned, I open my eyes, blinking in surprise. Red eyes meet icy blue, cold and angry and obstinate. "No, Chrono," she whispers stubbornly, and that's all I need to hear.


End file.
